Z-Warrior in 20 Steps
by akanenoyuki089
Summary: "Yes; hatred, loathing, disgust, oh, and did I emphasize hatred?" 15-year old Marron mulls over dysfunctional relationship with 18-year old Trunks and insecurity issues with almost everyone. What would change if you throw in family, Saiyan blood, highschool, and utmost desire to be a Z-warrior?
1. Think, Observe, Plan

**SUMMARY:**

"Yes; hatred, loathing, disgust, oh, and did I emphasize _hatred?" _15-year old Marron mulls over dysfunctional relationship with 18-year old Trunks and insecurity issues with almost everyone. What would change if you throw in family, Saiyan blood, highschool, and utmost desire to be a Z-warrior?

**Z-WARRIOR IN 20 STEPS**

**DISCLAIMER**: _Yeah, you know the drill. :)_

* * *

**CHAPTER 1: THINK, OBSERVE, PLAN**

"_**A goal without a plan is just a wish." –Antoine de Saint-Exupery**_

* * *

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. The clock went tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

A young girl at the age of 15 stared disparagingly at the antique grandfather clock situated at the far left corner of the room. The short hour hand and longer minute hand was not in the slightest moving while the second hand was racing around the clock's circumference. She sighed, her eyes glaring at the bronze swinging pendulum while her left hand's fingers drummed restlessly on the cream-colored table.

_'My name is Marron.'_ she mused in her head.

_'Marron, the daughter of Cyborg 18, a gorgeous, sarcastic killing-bot turned decent friend of the Z-warriors; and Krillin, a humorous, proud, battle-loving monk turned one of earth's greatest defenders.'_ Sighing more audibly this time, her gaze fell upon the single-star dragon ball positioned in a small fluff pillow; grabbing it, she began examining it slowly, twirling it in her right hand.

_'And the daughter of the 2 of the most involved Z-warriors is sitting in her room, staring at the clock, a weird orange orb they call a 'dragon sphere' or whatever it's called in hand while most of her friends and family risk their lives __**again**__ saving the blue planet and its ignorant inhabitants.'_ She heavily groaned, tipping her head back to look at the white, blank ceiling.

"I'm already 15!" she shouted out loud, "And I don't know how fight! The daughter of 2 martial artists doesn't know how to kick or-" the one-star dragon ball flew towards the wall, "-punch or fly or shoot cool, blue stuff out of thin air or-"

"It's called a ki blast." a drawling voice came from the door as Marron gripped the table to avoid falling backwards.

She regained composure as she heard a snort coming from her right. "I know what it's called." Marron whipped her head to the right and glared at a certain lavender-haired boy leaning on the door-frame, hands crossed over his chest and looking as unconcerned and carefree as ever.

"What're you doing here Trunks? Need some help fending off the baddies?" she rolled her eyes and got up to stretch, fixing her baby pink hat and walking over to pick the weird orange orb she just most recently threw, placing it back in its rightful place.

"Those 'baddies' took an hour and a half, miss prissy princess; and mom sent me to pick you up, we're having barbecue at our place." Trunks strolled inside her room, examining a shelf of books and taking one black, hard-bound book. "Huh. Didn't know you could read."

Choosing to ignore the statement, she returned the book and forcefully closed the shelf, turning back to face him with her arms crossed and looking rather annoyed.

"What about Master Roshi?" she raised a blonde eyebrow, watching him cross the room towards the barred windows.

"Already there; we ran into him ogling some brunette at a dress shop on the way home." Marron clenched her teeth, thinking about how she was forbidden to take a step out of the island for her safety while Master Roshi, an old geezer who had to use a stick to walk, was able to drift wherever he wants to. It just wasn't fair.

"Your windows are barred? How pitiful." And the way he said it in that long, uninterested voice that had a twinge of sarcasm just annoyed her more.

The lavender-haired boy walked out of Kame house, Marron in tow, until stopping short as he realized something. He slowly turned to look at the 15-year-old girl examining her nails.

"What?" she asked, "Aren't we going yet?" Trunks narrowed his eyes; addressing the problem disguised as a blonde-haired, pigtailed girl in a baby pink dress and hat. Her eyes widened as if suddenly aware of Trunks not bringing out any miniscule capsule.

"Where is your jet-copter?" she innocently asked, knowing that if Master Roshi had gone out, then he had taken the only decent and working jet-copter, leaving her with one choice.

"Err… right. I forgot you don't know how to fly." Insulted as she felt, she closed her eyes, counted from one to five, brought up a shaking right fist, and whacked him on the head.

"Geez, I thought you would've learned to fly by now, you know." Trunks rubbed the spot on his head, glaring at the fuming Marron.

"I don't know how to fly… _yet, _okay? I'm going to learn it someday, tomorrow maybe, but not today! I'm not dressed to fly today! Nope; nu-uh, I am _not_ taking flight with you now and get my hair all messed up. And I just ironed my dress! You don't know how hard it is to keep the creases away! And my makeup, it would be smudged left and right over the wind's current! Do you know how long it took to…" And the rest were all _blah, blah, blah,_ to Trunks as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, no longer paying attention to what Marron was mumbling about.

He sighed, "Are you done yet?" she simply crossed her arms, looking away whilst tapping her shoe on the sand. Trunks was relieved it muted the supposedly annoying sound.

"Now, I'm sure you've noticed that I'd rather be listening to nails on a chalkboard than your incessant whining-" she uncrossed your arms and stared slack-jawed at him, "-So let's just get going, okay?"

More glaring ensued.

"You just don't get it, do you?" she gritted through her teeth.

"No, I don't; and I'd rather it stay that way-" before he could even manage to finish his sentence, she cut him off, screaming words of profanities that made Trunks inwardly groan and roll his eyes heavenwards.

"You insensitive jerk! No wonder you haven't got a single girlfriend," _you thought so? _"No wonder why people avoid you," _you have no idea, _"No wonder people find Mr. Popo more fun to be with than-ahh!" _yep, that shut her up._

Marron shut her eyes close and gripped hard and tight around Trunks' neck while he didn't even bother slowing the pace down, holding her bridal-style. The wind whipped cruelly at both but while she continued cursing the lavender-haired boy in her mind and hoping her hat wouldn't get blown away, he was smiling and enjoying the feel of the cool, cold wind; not once bothering to tighten his grip on said girl.

And as they head towards Capsule Corp. at high, mind-swirling speed, the baby-pink hat fluttered away over Marron's words of _'Trunks-you-are-SO-dead!'_

* * *

"I hate you." She plainly stated just after the harsh landing.

"The feeling is mutual." He replied, them now making their way to the backyard where sounds of laughter, enjoyment, and cheers were getting louder and louder.

"Ever since you and Goten set fire to my hair since our families' reunion 5 years ago I knew you were pure evil." She glared forward, straightening the creases on her dress.

"We were _sparring._ I shot a ki blast, you were there, you weren't fast enough to dodge, so it caught your hair." He said, as if explaining how one plus one became two.

"And you couldn't do anything about it? I've seen you control those things and turn it at your will." They finally reached the party where Trunks' last reply of-"Goten was on offense then, you know."-drifted away.

"Hey Marron!" a cheery voice made the two turn towards a stunning blue-haired girl donned in a gorgeous layered red dress; _so much for pink being the perfect color, _Marron inwardly sighed.

"Oh hey Bulla, where'd you get the red dress? It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, anger over the lavender-haired half-saiyan completely forgotten and vaporized.

"Oh hush, you; your dress looks umm…" Bulla raised an eyebrow and moved her eyes up and down the disheveled, windswept Marron, earning a smirk from Trunks and a glare from the blonde-haired girl, as if daring her to say how frowzy she looked out loud.

"Err… never mind; and dad got it for my 14th birthday." Bulla smiled and turned to her brother. "And you, why are you still here?"

"Because, dear little sis, I know how much my mere presence infuriates you, and you know me; I live only for your misery." He shot a full-fledged smirk and watched how the younger half-saiyan glared daggers at him. Marron watched with amusement until her eyes darted towards an approaching member of the Son family, holding a plate of treacle tart and with hair matching a pineapple's, behind the unaware Bulla.

She began to raise an accusing finger at her brother, "Now listen here, buster, I-"

"Goten!" Trunks acknowledged, as Goten stopped short and stood beside a completely frozen Bulla, finger still raised in shock.

"Hiya, Trunks, Marron, Bulla; the food's great as usual!" he flashed his signature Son smile that made Bulla shake her head as if suddenly brought back to earth, clamp her mouth shut, and stare at the cold, white tiles, all the while blushing beet red. Marron had the urge to face-palm as both boys seemed dense at the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Yeah, that reminds me, I haven't tried the barbecue ribs since mom made me fetch _that _a while ago." Trunks nodded towards Marron as if the sight of said girl was an eyesore. Goten laughed and reached out to ruffle Marron's hair, further disheveling it.

"If you haven't noticed; _'that' _has a name." she pointed out, sticking her tongue out but Trunks waved his hand, ignoring her as he and Goten made their way towards the buffet table where Son Goku was also unsurprisingly seen.

"Bulla; you can look now, he's gone." Marron flashed her hand in front of her eyes and they both looked at the now laughing, oblivious and reunited-twins-at-heart, Trunks and Goten. Bulla sighed deeply whilst Marron wrinkled her nose, watching them stuff their plates and converse with Goku about some random fight, her scornful gaze lingering longer on a certain lavender-haired boy.

"Those two… I hope a meteor come crashing and bonk those two in the head." But then again, wishful thinking never worked out before, Marron thought.

Bulla laughed, slightly slapping her friend on the shoulder. "What got you all fired up again?" then rolling her eyes at the meaningful look the blonde-haired girl gave.

"Please, Marron, imprecate my brother all you want; he deserves it, but Goten-"

"Yeah, yeah, but your sweet, guileless Goten shouldn't be blamed because of your unprofessed, undying love for him and his 'obsidian eyes full of innocence.'" Bulla quickly made a desperate _shh-_ sound and suddenly dragged her away from earshot, looking frantically for eavesdroppers.

"Honestly, what if someone hears you? I never said that, did I? And what about you and my brother, huh? Something fishy is going on and I can practically feel the tension between you two." The gleam in her eyes made Marron feign throwing up in her hands and face her with both eyebrows furrowed in disgust.

"Yeah, tension caused by extreme detestation." she defended,

"Yep, there's definitely something going on between you two."

"Yes; hatred, loathing, disgust, oh, and did I emphasize _hatred?"_ Bulla merely shrugged and peered towards the duo now sitting underneath the tree with Piccolo.

"Denial. Now come on, let's go find Pan. I haven't seen her since the party started a while back."

* * *

Marron stood by the tree, further away from the party and watched with growing interest how two older boys sparred in the vast, clear and green backyard of Capsule Corp. Mixed feelings of excitement, envy and anticipation coursed through her veins as she strained her eyes to closely watch how they move. The two boys seemed annoying, irritating, childish, even to her; but when they scrunch their face up in concentration and move as fluidly as they do when in fights, she couldn't help but marvel at how these boys suddenly became men.

'_Why,'_ she wondered; _'Why, why can't I fight like that? Why can't I become a Z-warrior? Is it because I'm a girl? _Her brows furrowed as Goten shot a bright, blue orb from the sky, Trunks avoiding from the ground and suddenly appearing behind Goten, about to strike him down with an elbow but he avoided.

'_Nope, Pan is a girl and she gets into these fights almost like everybody else. Is it because I'm not a Saiyan?' _she asked herself, wincing as Goten took a punch in the stomach, _'Nope, mom is a girl, and she's not a Saiyan, but she still fights life-threatening duels every now and then.'_

Flurries of punches, kicks, and ki blasts surrounded the perimeter, and Marron almost smiled victoriously as Goten moved to deliver a swift kick to the jaw, but Trunks blocked at the very last second, arms crossed over his face.

'_But mom's an android… and last time I checked, I'm just plain, 'ole human. Maybe that's it; everyone has some kind of specialty, either Saiyan blood, or modified by science, or from another planet… but Chichi isn't of those either and I was told she was one of the strongest around.' _

Marron clasped her hands tightly and clenched her teeth. _'I'll go crazy if I stay alienated and isolated from everyone.' _And just as both of the boys shot the largest ball of ki blast yet, something clicked inside Marron's head.

'_Of course, how could I be so stupid? I haven't been trained yet! I haven't been taught those things when everyone apparently had some special training of sorts. Yes; Pan was trained by her parents, mom had been designed to have those skills by Dr. Gero (Whoever that is), dad and Yamcha trained under Master Roshi, Gohan by Piccolo, and Goten and Trunks by their parents!' _

She grinned, not noticing the fight was finally over until both the boys were heading her way and now in front of her. "Perfect!" she said out loud, causing a certain lavender-haired boy to raise a brow.

Awkward silence ensued while the three stared at each other, Marron still grinning ear to ear, until a ring came from Goten's left pocket. He fished it out, stared at the screen and practically beamed.

"Yeah, I have to take this." Son Goten made his way towards the party, phone still in hand, and leaving two of the worst enemies to stare at each other.

"Perfect? Well, thanks for the compliment." The half-saiyan crossed his arms while she looked at him incredulously, deciding to mirror him by crossing her arms too.

"How presumptuous; I was thinking about how the world-_my_ world would have been perfect if you hadn't existed."

"Ahh, but you aren't exactly little Miss Likeable either." He retorted, looking as bored as usual.

"Oh? I'll let you know that people find me rather charming, adorable, and interesting company." She forced to mirror his look of complete boredom but found herself glaring katanas by his next statement.

"You have as much charm as a cockroach, adorable compared to Saibamen, and as interesting as watching paint dry." He spoke with that long, drawling voice of his that enraged her and caused her blood to boil.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd rather watch water drop from the tap than talk to you!" she put a fist up while he feigned a yawn,

"And I'd rather be slapped by a dead fish multiple times than listen to you." She gave the same slack-jawed expression she had earlier and wished with all her might that something, _anything_ would fall out of the sky and knock him down.

"Well I'd rather watch a seedling grow than be here with you!"

"And I'd rather spend a month staring at Mr. Popo than a second conversing with you." Distant bouts of laughter could be heard in the distance as if mocking her while he looked uninterested, daring her to retort.

"Well I'd rather study to death than bear with your presence."

"And I'd rather eat paper than be in your presence."

"Well I'd rather… I'd rather… then why are you still here?" he smirked triumphantly and she looked as if steam was going to flush out of her head Majin Buu-style.

"I. HATE. You." She glared with every bit of hatred she could muster and pronounced the words as clearly as day and watched his smirk develop into a Cheshire grin.

"Yes. Yes I know." He nodded, walking away and leaving the blond-haired girl fuming at his always-in-control personality and arrogant, bossy demeanor. _'Comes with being the president of the biggest, most famous, and richest corporation in the world, I guess.' _

* * *

"Marron, where have you been? We've been looking all over for you." Marron grinned sheepishly at her dad, barbecue stick in hand.

"Uhh, just around. Where's mom?" she looked around; Bulla and Pan were already in deep conversation with Goten and Trunks, Goku and Vegeta having what was looking like a stuff-your-face-with-food competition, Gohan and Videl talking to Piccolo, and Master Roshi with Yamcha and Tien.

"Over there." He nodded his head in the direction of one of the benches where the most unlikely trio was found conversing with each other. Marron blinked and turned to her father inquisitively.

"Yeah, I know; those three immediately got together after helping each other beat one of the monsters a while back. There were tons of them! You should've seen them, Marron!" the blonde-haired girl simply pouted in response, shuffling her feet on the ground.

"It was your and mom's choice not to let me out, dad." She said so more to herself.

"Well can I come next time there's a fight?" she asked expectedly, hoping to get a 'yes' after being denied tons of times before.

"I don't know, Marron; someday, maybe when you're a little bit older." Krillin scratched the back of his head, smiling while she gaped open-mouthed at him.

"But you said that last time!" she exclaimed, grabbing a cup of soda and downing it down.

"And I'm saying it now again because you're _still_ too young; maybe until you learn how to handle yourself, kay?"

"Dad, Master Roshi told me you were thirteen when you started fighting, a-and how can I learn how to fight if you don't _train _me?" she whined,

"You don't really mean that, do you? Your clothes would get torn up, your hair would get cut or burned, you can't wear any make-up, you'll be sweating a whole lot, and just trust me, sunshine; your mom, I, and the rest of the Z-warriors will always be here when the world needs protecting so there's really no need." He took a sip out of the orange juice, looking thoughtful while Marron's face fell flat disappointed.

"But-"

"And you've got your studies to worry about, sweetheart; just go hang out with your little teenage friends and live like a normal teenager, kay?" how could he say that? She thought; how could he say that when basically her whole life revolves around people who are born to fight, around planet-threatening fights; how could she ignore all these things and pretend to be a sassy, _normal_ teenager living with a _normal _family in a _normal _house? Both her best friends are half-aliens, and half the people she knows are hard-core martial artists; that fact and that she was the single pure human with no hands-on fighting experience amongst them was already embarrassing as it was.

"Dad, I-" Krillin merely looked at his only daughter who decided to clamp her mouth shut. "Alright then. Now excuse me while I go find and hang out with my 'little teenage friends.'"

* * *

"Why? Tell me why? Why am I always being denied everything I had so fervently wished for?" the blonde-haired girl threw her hands up in exasperation, staring at her so-called best friends for answers.

"Uhh, correction, Marron; you got everything you 'so fervently wished for' except being trained in combat." Pan replied. The three were sharing a couch inside Capsule Corp., as most were already inside having one last chow and talk since the sun was beginning to set.

"And I thought you didn't want getting dirtied up?" Bulla asked, nibbling a cookie.

"That's what everybody's saying. But I swear I would try my best to put up with it; if only someone was willing to train me." Her eyes fell begrudgingly upon Pan, who raised both her eyebrows and shook her head.

"Nope. I have school and besides; I'm a year younger than you so I'm not that much of an expert on these things since I just recently learned them. I couldn't teach you anything useful if I tried." She grinned while Marron puffed and crossed her arms.

"At least you can fly. And shoot cool, blue things out of-"

"Ki blast." Marron glared at both who said the phrase at the same time, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

"Well, don't feel too bad; I can't fly or fight either." Bulla retorted, and Pan nodded, her eyes scanning the room.

"But you're a half-saiyan. Fighting comes naturally to you, and you can be tough when you want to be." She sighed wistfully.

"Oh come on, Marron; I'm sure someone's willing to train you. You could ask Master Roshi, maybe?" Pan suggested,

"Yeah, and I know just the thing to cheer you up." Bulla smiled widely, looking at the two with gleaming eyes.

"Movie night tonight, anyone?"

* * *

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. Stalemate. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. The lavender-haired half-saiyan and the blonde-haired human had reached a most disappointing stalemate. Now they opt to stare at each other, the effulgent chandelier casting an almost ethereal glow around the room.

Then he blinked.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, pointing an index finger towards him, "You blinked! So I win!"

"That pretty much wasn't the point of the game, you know." he sighed, leaning back over the couch and throwing both his hands behind his back.

"And playing chess with the most boring half-saiyan wasn't exactly my idea of a sleepover either, Trunks." she replied, looking over the windows expectedly.

"Now, now, you two, play nice." Another blue-haired woman strolled in the room; but this woman looked half her real age, Marron mused, and this woman is the cause of both Marron's distress and delight: as she is the mother of Trunks and Bulla.

"Bulla called, saying she and Pan would get home a little bit late, so just make yourself at home, Marron." she pushed a plate of cookies towards both; Trunks happily gorging whilst Marron looked sheepish, reluctantly grabbing a cookie.

The three had planned a sleepover and Bulla and Pan went out to get the movies and snacks while Marron convinced her parents to let her stay the night. It took a while, but eventually, they gave in; and now, Marron was stuck waiting for the two who promised they would come back 'right away.' But what was holding them up, she had not the slightest idea.

"I'm really sorry for bothering you further, Mrs. Briefs." Marron tried to give her most charming smile, 'tried' being the keyword. Trunks instantly rolled his eyes, nibbling the cookie rather fast.

"Oh, don't be silly, Marron; your dad, me and Goku had journeys and memories that were some of the best moments of my life." she shook her head, slightly chuckling. "And it's just Bulma, mom still has the rightful name of Mrs. Briefs."

"All right then, Bulma." Marron's eyes slightly darted to the right when Trunks brought out his phone and began texting.

"So, any special boy at the moment?" Bulma asked, grabbing a cookie herself while Trunks gave a snort as if saying the idea was impossible. Marron's eyes widened at the question directed to her. She opened her mouth to give a response until Trunks cut her off.

"Mom, the _kid_ hasn't even hit puberty yet." Trunks gave a distasteful up-and-down look at the fuming Marron whose hands were clenched tight.

"Trunks," Bulma gave a sickeningly-sweet smile that told him to either bite his tongue or she'll have to rip it out herself.

"I'll shut up now."

"You better, young man. Now, Marron?" Marron forced a smile, making it rather look like a grimace.

"T-there's n-no one, actually, but there is this boy in school-" she slightly stopped to give a scathing look at Trunks who mumbled 'pathetic' under his breath. Marron decided to alter her story a bit.

"-who kept asking me out, but then I just kept ignoring him." she finished, while Trunks raised a questioning brow.

"Ohh, some boys just got it bad, huh? Back in my day, when I was still with Yamcha, stalkers were everywhere! But still my stalkers couldn't hold a candle to the number of fangirls Yamcha had." Bulma exclaimed and Marron simply nodded, continuing with the far-fetched lie.

"Yep; and then this other guy kept telling me how pretty and perfect I am and that he'd be the luckiest boy in the world if I went out with him, but I still said no because..." her mind went blank for a second, until she thought of the most unlikely reason. "Because I was thinking of finishing my studies first before engaging with those ridiculous ideals of dating." she smiled smugly, making sure to take note of Trunks' suspicious glare.

"Well, you sure are a role model, aren't you?" she smiled, checking the time on her wristwatch. "Well, I'll just leave you two to catch up on your talking. I still have to go help out dad in fixing the equipment Vegeta broke." Bulma sighed, running a frustrated hand through her hair. "Kami, I swear Trunks, wouldn't you mind telling your dad to take his training at least a notch down? We're at times of peace!" Bulma got up, giving Trunks a knowing look.

"And Trunks, you will be entertaining our guest until Bulla comes home, right?" Marron was about to object, thinking she really didn't want to spend another agonizing minute with him until he spoke with a sigh.

"Yes mom. Where's Goten when you need him." he mumbled the last part to himself, at least.

"Good." Bulma Briefs walked out and with that the two were left to go back to their staring, or rather glaring contest.

"So, you suck at lying too, huh?" he started,

"Spare me; you were so dense and oblivious at times I thought you wouldn't notice." She retorted, combing her hands through her hair.

"You know, we could actually be friends," her eyes glanced upwards to meet his and she frowned. _'What is he playing at?'_

"No. No, we can't. 5 years of pure hostility proved that." her voice was void of emotion and he shrugged,

"Huh. Couldn't have said it better myself." She narrowed her eyes at his completely nonchalant attitude.

"Tell me, besides Goten, do you _really _have any friends?"

"You're asking me? The youngest president of the most renowned corporation in the whole world? You should already know the answer to that." he smirked, watching her grab a cookie and ferociously bite it.

"How," she pointed the cookie at him, "How do people even cope up with you? You're like a walking block of ice, you're almost comparable to a cold, lifeless chunk of rock, so why?"

"Haven't you heard? As long as you have fame, money, and power, people won't care a bit about the rest; they're gullible and shallow that way." he replied, leaning his chin on his palm while she frowned. She wasn't like that… was she?

She immediately shook her head; she shouldn't care less about what he's saying.

"Well that shouldn't apply to everyone; I like material things myself, but you don't see me fawning over you or forcing my company, now, do you?" she raised an eyebrow,

"I suppose not; but your mere presence and ki in this household is an intrusion to me." She scowled, raising a clenched fist again,

"Why you insensitive prick; see, your foul attitude makes me wonder if you and Bulla are really related." She stared as he got up, yawning and taking the last cookie from the plate.

"Well, now that my babysitting chores are done, I might as well get on with my life."

She looked at him with complete derision, "As if you have a life. And what are you-" just as she was about to complete her sentence, the sound of the door opening and closing cut her off.

"We're home!" came the cheerful voice of Pan as they made their way towards the living room, Trunks ruffling Bulla's hair while passing.

"Ugh, what a nice greeting, brother." Bulla blew the strands of hair out of her face and scowled as Trunks made his way out. Marron was relieved and annoyed as the two collapsed on the couch in front of her.

"So…" she stared at the two, silently demanding an explanation.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Bulla grumpily answered, her eyes obviously drooping as she sighed and pouted, chin in hand. Pan, on the other hand, looked quite unsure and glancing from Marron and Bulla; Marron raised an eyebrow.

"Two hours and a half? What did you do? Watch a whole movie?" Pan gasped while Bulla groaned, plunging headfirst in the first pillow she could grab.

"How'd you guess?" Bulla spoke barely audible due to being muffled by the pillow.

"No. Are you two serious?" Marron gave both an incredulous look. They went to the movies. Without her. They watched a whole movie without even bothering to call her.

"It's a long story, Marron. Come on, let's go up to Bulla's room and we'll tell you everything." Pan sighed,

"You better." Marron hissed. So the three proceeded; Pan and Marron dragging a mumbling Bulla up the stairs.

Once there, Marron quickly snapped the door shut, locked it and faced the two sitting at the side of the bed, Bulla looking as if her favorite dress was recently incinerated and Pan casting worried, pitiful glances at her.

"All right, now spill." She crossed the room, standing directly in front of them.

"Err… you better sit down, this might take a while." Pan glanced sheepishly at the almost lifeless Bulla and Marron opted to grab a light-blue fluff chair, plopping down and still staring at the two. Bulla suddenly started wailing and sobbing.

"Oh Marron! You should've been there! You should've seen them! Them! The lewd, shameless woman and her grabby hands!" Bulla laid back and stared at the ceiling while Pan sweat-dropped, Marron looking perplexed and bewildered at the sudden burst of emotion.

"Yup." Pan nodded, "She's definitely lost it."

"And the way she was putting on the moves on _my_ Goten… I swear Dende must be mad at me…" Bulla mumbled and Marron's expression turned from complete confusion to realization as her mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"And he wasn't even doing anything about it! He just let her put her arms around his neck and whisper I-don't-want-to-find-out nothings with me beside him! How could he?" she exclaimed, covering her face with both her hands. Seconds of silence passed with only Bulla's incomprehensible mumbling when Pan decided it would be best if she would explain.

"I think it's better if we begin from the start." Marron nodded dumbfounded at Pan as she proceeded to unfold the events.

"_Hey Pan, do you think we should get this," Bulla held out a well-known chick-flick, "Or this?" she held out 'another' well-known chick-flick, newly released. Pan rolled her eyes, seeing no apparent difference between the two._

"_Oh, just get both and let's get out of here." she exclaimed with a wave of her hand. Bulla shrugged and nodded as the two headed to the counter. Sapphire eyes glanced out of the shop and landed on a familiar figure sitting by the bench across the street and staring forward. Bulla gasped, abandoning the dvd's and turning to Pan whose eyes widened._

"_What? What is it?" she asked and the blue-haired girl gave a squeal in response._

"_It's Goten! He's over there!" she pointed and there definitely sat Son Goten, sitting alone in a bench. _

'_This will not end well.' Pan thought, as Bulla asked her how she looked and fumbled out of the shop, Pan following begrudgingly; they crossed the street and made their way towards Son Goten whose eyes lit up in recognition._

"_Oh, hey there, Bulla… Pan," he nodded at both, "What're you two doing here? Where's Marron?" Bulla was about to response when someone, a girl's voice, spoke up._

"_Sorry to keep you waiting, Goten; here you go." Bulla and Pan turned to look at a girl whose blonde hair was in an elegant bun and wearing a rather skimpy purple dress. Bulla's eyes narrowed; she disliked this girl on sight. They watched as Goten stood up and took the ice cream cone the girl was offering before turning towards the two._

"_Bulla, Pan, this is Reiko; Reiko, this is Bulla, my best friend's little sister," the blue-haired girl gave a wince and felt a stab of pain at the label she was given. "And this is Pan, my niece." _

_Pan and Bulla could do nothing but stare as the so-called girl 'Reiko' examined both with her big, blue eyes. _

"_Hi; Goten may have left this little tidbit out, but I'm his girlfriend. Nice to meet you." She flashed a perfect smile and latched an arm to the beaming Goten; Pan looked nervously between the two girls while Bulla was debating whether to break her arm or snatch up Goten, lock him in a box, and have him all for herself. Reiko held out a hand and Bulla glared coldly at it; Pan, however, sensing the imminent danger, immediately shook it, smiling the fakest smile she had ever mustered._

"_So, where you guys headed?" Pan asked, keeping an eye out for her blue-haired friend. Goten smiled, oblivious to the tense atmosphere._

"_To the movies; want to come along?" Bulla hadn't missed the glare Reiko shot at Goten and had answered before Pan could have had the chance to 'kindly' decline._

"_Of course, we'd love to. In fact, that's where Pan and I were supposed to be going." She hissed venomously._

"Wait, wait, wait-hold up for a second, so what happened to 'Let's hurry, Marron's waiting back at home'?" the blonde-haired girl looked at Bulla.

"Well, I'm sorry; I just kind of lost grip on myself, that girl just got on my nerves!" she exclaimed while Pan sighed,

"Can we get on with the story?" Marron nodded at Pan, "So, anyways…"

_The four made their way to the movies, dear Reiko still latched on to Goten while Bulla looked as if she was about to shoot a ki blast between them. Pan merely whistled, holding popcorn and candy._

"_Can you see that dress, Pan? She should've at least worn a decent outfit. I mean, who wears clothes like that?" Bulla grumbled and Pan stared at her,_

"_Uhh… You?" she answered, earning a glare from the blue-haired princess._

"_What? It's true, you know." Pan shrugged as they moved to find seats. Goten between Reiko and Bulla, and Pan beside Bulla._

"_What're we going to do about Marron?" Pan whispered and Bulla's eyes widened comically._

"Finally! Dear Dende, you don't know how much I suffered and endured during those two hours." Marron grumbled,

"Well what did you do for two hours?" Bulla asked and Marron ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

"I played chess with that insufferable brother of yours, then glared at him, then talked to your mom, ate a chocolate-chip cookie, and glared more."

"Aww, come on, Marron; Trunks isn't that bad of a company." Pan said; pulling out a capsule and press the top, and out came paper bags of snacks and whatnots. She grabbed a bag of chips and tore it open.

"To you, that is; you know, I've always wondered, why do you and Trunks get along just fine?" Marron replied, rummaging through the paper bags and bringing out a bar of chocolate.

"Dunno. Ask him; he seems nice to me for some reason." Pan retorted, while Bulla grabbed a chip and chewed loudly.

"Nice? He told me I had as much charm as a cockroach."

"Don't you?" Bulla muttered, as she and Pan laughed at Marron's expression.

"Just kidding. I share your antagonism, Marron; after all, he was the reason Goten was with that witch." Bulla exclaimed as Marron raised an amused eyebrow.

"He was? How?"

"Well, I asked Goten how he and that Reiko girl met and he told me that Trunks set him up with her not too long ago." Pan answered, now examining the dvd's they bought.

"Ugh, I swear someday I'm gonna make him permanently bald for setting them up. Then we said goodbye and watched as he _flew_ her away." Bulla muttered,

"Then we had to go back to the dvd shop and buy the snacks, that's why it took us two whole hours and thirty minutes to get back here." Marron sighed and nodded understandably.

"All right then. Come on, let's check out the movies you've bought."

"It's _all_ chick-flicks, Marron; just like how the both of you wanted." Pan pouted, as Marron and Bulla shared a laugh.

"Aww, don't worry, Pan; you'll enjoy these." Bulla said, popping in the disc.

"That's what you said last time." she mumbled and Marron couldn't help but wonder how they had befriended the tomboy-ish Pan. '_Nevertheless, she is one of my best friends.'_ Marron thought.

* * *

Two whole two-hour movies had been watched; they were starting the third, and by then, 5 containers of ice cream, three large junk food wrappers, and 6 chocolate wrappers already lay sprawled on the ground.

"Oh look, wasn't she in the last movie we watched too?" Marron questioned, and hearing no response, she looked at her companions, obviously fast asleep. She sighed, picking up the remote and finally turning the flat-screen television off. Now darkness engulfed her but she still kept her eyes open, her mind unwilling to succumb to sleep. Turning restlessly, she decided that some cool air just might be what she needed. She stared at the digital alarm clock feeling a sense of dread when the red digits flashed 1:56 AM.

She grabbed her phone by the bedside table and stealthily got up, careful not to disturb the two. She used the screen light to walk out of the room and into the balcony, bare-foot and clad in nothing but a thin, silky nightgown Bulla lent.

Her eyes began scanning her dark surroundings as a cool breeze blew through her hair.

'_One of these days,' _she thought, _'One of these days I'll be able to defend myself, to stand up to the same enemies my friends and family face, and to fly whenever I want to. I swear to Dende, I will.' _

Her eyes stopped short of their roaming and landed on a fairly bright square of light directly in front of her.

'_That's Trunks' room.' _Her eyebrows furrowed. _'What's he doing still up?' _a silhouette passed through the transparent glass, the shadow seemed to be holding a phone to his ear, and running a hand through his hair as he paced the room back and forth.

'_It must be hard.'_ She thought, _'Running a company at that age.'_

She shook her head, _'What am I saying? Am I actually worrying about the royal jerk?' _she breathed out, forcing herself to remember all his and Goten's pranks, teasing and hurtful comments over the years.

'_Okay, the hatred's back. Besides, he is a saiyan-nope, a __**super**__ saiyan; his energy must be really hard to be drained out.'_

She checked her phone and the screen lit up, now the digits read 2:05. She was about to go back inside Bulla's room when the sound of the balcony door sliding open made her freeze on the spot.

The lavender-haired half-saiyan stepped out of his room and into the balcony, his eyes slightly widening in surprise at the blonde-haired girl standing across the other side, phone in hand, and eyes unblinking.

Marron knew he could perfectly see her despite the dark night because of his cursed Saiyan eyesight and he knew she could see him clearly due to his room's illumination in the background. He sighed, deciding the staring might as well be broken.

She nearly jumped when she felt something vibrate in her right hand, glancing down, she could see the screen of her phone lighting up and the words '1 New Message' were visible. She narrowed her eyes before reading the message.

'_**What are you doing still up?' **_

She quickly typed back.

'_**Does what I'm doing matter to you?'**_

'_**I guess not; but if you're about to jump off the balcony then just ignore me and proceed.'**_

She scowled and shot him a menacing glare.

'_**I was practicing how to fly.' **__Well, I was swearing to Dende I would fly someday but… never mind._

'_**Any luck? :P' **_

_How dare that intolerable jerk mock me… _

'_**Nada.' **_

She squinted through the darkness, but instead of seeing him type back a reply, he seemed to float up higher in the air, and fly straight towards her. Her eyes widened as he stopped short, directly floating in front of her. She consciously wrapped her arms around her body.

"What're you doing, Trunks?" she hissed, glancing back to see Bulla and Pan's form still sleeping soundlessly.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm floating." He simply whispered back, and she sighed, feeling another cold breeze drift through.

"Bulla's pretty mad at you, you know." She whispered lightly, as he shrugged; now moving to sit over the rails.

"She's always mad at me."

"Well, this time you've overdone yourself." She replied, leaning her chin on the palm of her hands. "She told us she's going to make you permanently bald." She said whilst nodding, Trunks slightly laughing beside her.

"Yeah, I'll just sit back and wait for that." he sarcastically said, "What'd I do anyway?" he turned to look at her,

"Well… you just shipped off her beloved crush away with a 'witch' named Reiko." She replied; staring back at him and watching him smirk.

"Oh, that? Reiko's actually pretty decent; but she turns obsessive in just a few days. And I thought Bulla's already over him? At least, that's what she told me a week ago."

"Obviously a lie; now, can I ask you something I'm really interested in?" she asked and he stared; taking his silence as a yes, she continued.

"How old were you when you learned to fly?" she asked and he looked thoughtful for a moment,

"Hmm… I dunno… I was 7?" she scowled, _'I knew it.'_

"Is it hard? Flying, I mean?"

"For us with Saiyan blood and early training it kind of comes naturally. And I can see where you're going with this, blondie; no, you can't just learn to fly in a day."

"Alright then; but that doesn't mean I'm going to be discouraged, I'll still learn it." She added, looking back up at the dark, night sky. _'The stars sure are pretty tonight.' _she thought.

"Hn." He simply said and her eyes darted to the lavender-haired boy slowly drifting away towards his balcony and without a second back-glance at her, entered his room and slid the door shut. She sighed, seeing the lights turn off. She made her way back to the bed where she carefully laid down and put her phone back on the nightstand. Now the digital clock read 2:13 AM.

'_Step one in becoming a Z-warrior,' _the blonde-haired girl mused, _'Learn to fly.' _

Her eyes were slowly drooping, realizing that it was the first time in five years that she had shared a decent conversation with the arrogant half-saiyan, until the vibration of her phone against the bedside table shook her awake. She grabbed the phone and slightly smiled at the single word contained in the message sent by one of the most unbearable, conceited pricks in the whole universe, to her, that is.

'_**Goodnight.'**_

* * *

_Hey everyone! ^^, So... yeah, this is my second story on fanfiction, and well, just tell me what you think. Thanks for reading and please R also, I apologize for any misspells, grammatical errors, the likes. ^^,_

_~~~Mai_


	2. Plan, Write, Study

**SUMMARY:**

"Yes; hatred, loathing, disgust, oh, and did I emphasize _hatred?" _15-year old Marron mulls over dysfunctional relationship with 18-year old Trunks and insecurity issues with almost everyone. What would change if you throw in family, Saiyan blood, highschool, and utmost desire to be a Z-warrior?

**Z-WARRIOR IN 20 STEPS**

**DISCLAIMER**: _Because classics are being owned by highschool fangirls like me. :)_

* * *

**CHAPTER 2: PLAN, WRITE STUDY  
**

_**"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe." ―Marilyn Vos Savant**_

* * *

Tap, tap, tap. The pencil went tap, tap, tap.

It was Monday, a school day and undoubtedly Marron's least favorite day of the week. The blonde-haired girl sat in her usual chair at the second to the last row and longingly stared out the window; the sun was out, the weather was humid, the birds were chirping, and the streets and skies were filled with people and jet-copters, trying to get to their respective destinations. _'A dull, tedious and tiring routine,' _she thought. Her notions then drifted to when she first entered highschool, once feeling queasy and all-over nervous.

'_Highschool at Orange Star High isn't that bad,'_ said Son Gohan to 14-year old Marron back then, but she knew better after spending a year at said school; after walking through the same hallways filled with various gossips and hormone-enraged teenagers older than her.

She was never the popular type; never the girl who was being ogled every time she passed by. She was typical, ordinary, and usually ignored, try as she may to get noticed by wearing designer clothes and fancy jewelries. But after spending a year in that exact same position, she just didn't seem to care very much anymore. Highschool just became another filler episode on the main adventure of her life; becoming a proclaimed Z-warrior, that is.

'_Step one isn't going too well though.' _she glumly thought.

So now the blonde-haired pure human girl continued to tap her pencil repeatedly on top of her notebook, now staring at the chalkboard with drooping eyes, the voice of the professor nullified and the chattering sound of her classmates lulling her mind to a place where she could land on the soft, cotton-candy like clouds, where she could fearlessly jump off a steep cliff and dive into the clear, deep, blue waters, where she could glide and fly as well as Pan, Goten and Tru-her eyes snapped open, sleepiness gone in an instant and replaced with a desire to rip someone's head off, specifically; Trunks' head.

'_That horrible, supercilious, conceited pile of dinosaur droppings,' _She started to draw a chibi figure on the blank page at the back of her notebook with hair sketched much like the lavender-haired half-saiyan. She thoughtfully tapped the tip of the pencil against her chin, before labeling the figure.

'_**Prick.' **_

She smiled, her eyes constantly flicking to the board as if trying to understand the current lesson with which she has no idea about. Marron then faced down, continuing to draw arrows around the chibi Trunks, all leading to specific words of insult. She fumed and felt the immense hatred for the boy just by remembering yesterday's events.

"_Hey Marron, get up; we're going to Red Alcove." A familiar voice rang through the air and a blurry form pulled the covers off the snoozing Marron. She slightly sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning._

"_The cafe? Gosh Pan, what for? And what time is it?" she muttered, looking at the digital clock and loudly groaning since it was already mid-morning. Memories of last night, or rather, events after she went out the balcony flooded her brain as she sloppily got out of bed, seeing both Pan and Bulla already dressed to go. She stared at her two best friends questioningly._

"_Well? Come on! Get up! Or else we're going to miss them!" Bulla clapped her hands loudly in front of the blond-haired girl as Pan rolled her eyes at the blue-haired girl's frantic actions. Marron simply wove a hand through her slovenly, slipshod hair; eyes half-open._

"_Miss? Miss who? Yeah, I miss dreamland too. Goodnight." Marron once again slumped back on the bed. Bulla turned to look desperately at Pan, who in turn, grabbed a pillow and started hitting the groaning Marron._

"_Get. Up. Now. If you don't want me pour ice-cold water on you!" Pan accentuated each word with a hit of the pillow while Bulla stood laughing at the two._

"_Okay, okay; I'm up, no need to get wacky again." Giving one last big yawn, Marron grumpily dragged herself out of the bed. Half an hour later, the three reached the entrance of an elegantly-looking cafe, the swirly letters spelling the words 'Red Alcove.'_

"_Tell me, what're we doing here again?" Marron asked for the fifth time from their position of crouching and hiding behind a large, wide tree a little ways from the cafe. Pan popped a chocolate ball in her mouth while Bulla put a finger to her mouth and made a 'shh—' sound, intently searching for something, or rather someone through the flock of people sitting and chatting on shaded tables. _

"_Maybe they're inside." The blue-haired saiyan-princess muttered while Marron furrowed her brows in curiosity and confusion, following Bulla's line of vision and looking for anything unusual but failing to do so._

"_We're accompanying Bulla stalk Goten." Pan nonchalantly said, popping another chocolate ball in her mouth. Marron's eyes widened while Bulla turned to give Pan an incredulous look, lightly slapping her on the shoulder._

"_I do not stalk!" she defended, "And I told you, we're simply here to observe, Pan." Bulla hissed, eyes resuming to the park._

"_What? You're kidding, right? I missed breakfast for the sole purpose of stalking Son Goten?" Marron tugged at her right pigtail, fixing the thin rubber strand that held it while her other hand made a grab for the box of chocolate balls Pan had. _

"_Well, we knew you wouldn't budge an inch if we told you the very reason a while back; and besides," Pan smirked, "I couldn't let you enjoy the sunshine while I'm stuck here with Bulla stalking her brother's best friend." Marron stuck a tongue out,_

"_Yeah, sure Pan; some best friend you are." Marron scoffed and shot a scornful look at Pan, who merely grinned, and turned to Bulla, "And why are you stalking Goten? I thought you stopped, like, three years ago?" Bulla sighed, turning to look at the two._

"_I told you, we're not here to stalk Goten, we're just here to… witness Goten break up with the witch." Pan raised an eyebrow and Bulla continued with a sigh, "Hopefully." _

_The blonde-haired pig-tailed girl pouted, mumbling incoherent words of 'sleep-deprivation' and 'malnourishment' while Bulla simply ignored her with a wave of her hand._

"_How'd you two know Goten was meeting the Reiko girl today?" Marron asked, and Pan replied with a snicker._

"_She eavesdropped on Trunks' and Goten's conversation on the phone this morning." The blue-haired princess looked at Pan disapprovingly for using the word 'eavesdropped' while Marron grabbed another chocolate ball._

"_I did not 'eavesdrop,' it just happened that I passed through the living room on my way to the kitchen and caught a bit of what they were talking about." She retorted, crossing her arms defiantly._

"_Sure. We believe you, right Marron?" Pan and Marron both nodded simultaneously and a second later, watched as Bulla's eyes suddenly widened and moved to cover both their mouths with her hands. Both shook free and turned to look at another blonde-haired girl with hair now loosely curled around her shoulders pass the exact tree they were hiding in. Marron stared at the girl, knowing that this must be the girl named Reiko, who Son Goten was also meeting. _

_The girl walked towards the automatic sliding glass doors, just across the tree where three pairs of eyes continued to examine her. Reiko entered, and with the silent shut of the doors, Bulla then nudged her two companions. _

"_Come on, let's go in." Bulla muttered, and the three were about to move until a very well-known voice spoke behind them; making the three instantly freeze on the spot. _

"_I thought I saw a familiar mop of blue hair." _

'_Dende, please don't let it be __**him.'**__ Marron thought as the three dreadfully turned to look at the speaker, the blonde-haired pig-tailed girl had the urge to face-palm; her smoldering, dark blue eyes meeting icy, cold blue ones and the two stared silently at one another. Bulla was about to curse him on sight until her eyes darted towards a smiling stranger standing beside him._

"_Brother!" Bulla exclaimed with fake enthusiasm, "What are you doing here?" her eyes flashed venomously as he finally tore his gaze away from Marron to his little sister._

"_Trunks, who's she?" the girl beside the half-saiyan spoke in a soft, innocent, child-like voice while Trunks sighed, reluctantly starting with the introductions._

"_Valese; this is Bulla, my… sister," the way Trunks choke out the word made Bulla glare holes at his forehead, "This is Pan, Goten's niece," Pan gave a wide smile, "And this…" Trunks gestured to Marron, who waited for a good, if not, satisfactory introduction that apparently never came._

"_This is just somebody who tagged along. Moving on…" He stated drawlingly. Marron felt her jaw drop in utter shock and how she felt was simply indescribable; she wanted to rip his voice box out, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole, she wanted the heavens to strike lightning at him, she wanted her eyesight to literally produce knives and daggers and stab him multiple times, she wanted him incinerated, decimated, and blasted into oblivion. Unfortunately, none of those happened, she angrily thought; her hands clenched tightly while she fought for control and chose to stay quiet a minute longer, for fear of screaming and cursing him with all her might. _

"_You three, this is Valese, Goten's…" he looked thoughtful for a moment and Bulla raised an eyebrow, "Ah, friend." The brunette gave a polite bow and smiled sweetly._

"_Nice to meet you," she exclaimed as Marron slowly breathed in and out._

"_Nice to meet you too; my name's Marron, by the way, and I get along with Trunks and Goten 'really well.'" her voice was plainly laced with sarcasm, but the ingenuous brunette failed to notice as her smile widened._

"_Now come on Valese, Reiko's waiting." The lavender-haired half-saiyan nudged the brunette beside him and she gave a smile._

"_They're all related to you and Goten in some way, aren't they?" she asked and he lazily nodded, "I'd love to get to know your closest friends and family! Why don't we invite them along? The more the merrier, right?" he gave her a skeptical look and inwardly groaned, briefly checking his wristwatch._

"_Yeah, brother; invite us along, we'll behave." Bulla smirked while Pan and Marron both gaped at her, apparently having no say in this choice. _

"_Okay, fine." He replied as two girls stood up begrudgingly while one looked immensely satisfied. _

"_Why'd you have to drag us along?" Pan muttered, _

"_And I thought you said it was only Goten and Reiko?" Marron hissed, distancing themselves from Trunks and Valese._

"_You think I'd go alone with them? Hell no, I need moral support. And I told you, I just caught some of the details during their little phone call." Bulla whispered back as Pan threw the now empty box of chocolate balls towards the trash bin. _

_The café had the air of elegance, filled with people of the usual high, elite status. Some were casual businessmen and women, some wore dangling and shining diamonds and opals, some were quite eccentric with their choice of clothing, and some were recognizable figures of publicity. Marron stared at the high, crystal and icy-like structure of the chandeliers, and waiter-bots skating through tables. The group then spotted the agitated Reiko, who kept checking her wristwatch, and moved to approach the dainty sphere-like glass table._

"_Took you guys long enough." Reiko commented with a twitch of an eye. _

"_Yeah, Goten's running a little late; he called saying something about his mother and 'flying pans.'" Trunks replied; him and Valese casually taking a seat while Bulla, Pan, and Marron stood quietly, unsure of what to say, much more do._

_Reiko sighed knowingly, and looked up at the three unnamed girls._

"_Take a seat, people are staring." Trunks scoffed as the three finally took a seat; the awkward atmosphere intensifying, mood music filling the air. The group sat quietly around the quaint circular table; Marron in between her two best friends, the lavender-haired half-saiyan seated in front of her apparently staring at nothing, Bulla next to Reiko, an empty chair in front of her, and beside her the cheerful, sunny Valese. Reiko's eyesight moved around the small group of people, her eyes once more focusing on the three strangers, two almost familiar. _

"_Hey, aren't you two the girls who kept following me and Goten yesterday?" Reiko acknowledged as Pan and Bulla both gave a startled look._

"_Excuse me, 'Miss Reiko'," Bulla spoke, mockery evident in her voice, "But we weren't following you; we just happened to be planning on seeing the same movie." She gritted through her teeth, crossing her arms defiantly. _

"_Oh, so you already know each other? Good, I won't be wasting any of my time with the introductions." Trunks said and Reiko raised a finger to object until a waiter-bot shortly interrupted. After orders of similar drinks, the waiter-bot instantly produced the cups of steaming coffees, placing them on the table and spoke the price in the expected monotonous robotic voice, the lavender-haired half-saiyan paying for the drinks. _

"_As I was about to say," Reiko started, sipping her coffee with a pinky raised, "I don't know her." She nodded towards the oblivious blonde-haired pig-tailed girl, stopping her action of swirling the drink and looking up._

"_Oh, her; she can introduce herself." Trunks answered, eyes not once looking up as he tore his fifth packet of sugar. Marron glared at him for the hundredth time that morning, taking a deep breath and speaking up._

"_My name's Marron." She lowly grumbled, still feeling irritated and exasperated; earning a condescending stare from the other curly blonde-haired girl. _

"_A real ball of joy, she is." Trunks mumbled with a roll of his eyes._

"_Yes, and your attitude adds to radiate a brighter ray of sunshine on my life." Marron sarcastically retorted, the lavender-haired boy finally looking up. Reiko smirked, watching both with a pensive look while Pan and Bulla turned to look at each other warningly, until the obtuse, unknowing Valese spoke up._

"_Aww, how sweet! They're complimenting each other in public!" her eyes glittered dramatically and Marron's head whipped to look at her as if she had grown two heads. The onlookers decided to remain silent, though. Marron decided to calm herself first by sipping her coffee, apparently the wrong choice, considering the next sentence exclaimed by the cheerful brunette._

"_The two of you are together, aren't you?" Marron nearly sputtered out her drink while Pan patted her on the back as she choked._

"_Valese," Trunks breathed out, "We're not together; she and I are on 'completely' different levels. Mine's ridiculously higher, that is." He smirked as Marron debated just splashing his face with the hot cup of coffee. Bulla, however, realized what she was thinking and whispered closely._

"_Don't do it, Marron; we're in a first-class, five-star café." The blue-haired girl gave a very wide fake smile, the lavender-haired boy rolling in his at her plasticity, around the group, as if saying everything was fine. The sliding glass doors opened once more to reveal Son Goten, eyes searching the room until meeting a pair of familiar chocolate orbs. Valese smiled widely, Goten returning with a sheepish look as he headed for the table._

"_Hey, sorry I'm late."_

The cringing sound of the bell interrupted her thoughts, but as she stood up, the blue notebook fell to the floor with a thud. She sighed, looking at it painstakingly and slightly stooped; until a pair of unknown hands reached the innocently lying notebook. Marron's eyes widened a split second before the notebook was read with a questioning, slightly interested voice.

"Trunks is a pathetic, filthy, sordid, squalid waste of—"

"Y-Yeah, that's not mine." She quickly took the notebook and roughly shoved it in her bag. The blonde-haired human girl was met by a very intrigued stare of her classmate with brown hair and eyes. Marron felt her heartbeat quicken by the second and could only gape at the boy in front of her. _'It's him. And he's talking to me. Me. My crush is talking to me.' _The words circled her inner thoughts and mind, and she had to blink multiple times before feeling the sense literally knock her on the head in the form of a crumpled paper.

A brown, crumpled paper thrown by some unknown species hit her on the side of her head, the jeering cheers of her classmates unheard while it fell to the ground silently, Marron not having the slightest care in the whole universe.

"Trunks is a pathetic waste of _Saiyan_ space? What's a _Saiyan_?" the boy asked, having mispronounced the word with an eyebrow raised and Marron stuttered whilst answering.

"I…" she stared, looking around the room and hands clenching and unclenching nervously, "I… I don't know!" she nervously laughed, "I—It's my friend's notebook; I really don't know what she's talking about either, Ryuuji." The boy apparently named Ryuuji still stared questioningly at her while the blonde-haired girl faked a gasp.

"Oh, gosh, look at the time," she looked at her wrist for the time, but apparently forgot that she didn't own a wristwatch and just started to mentally curse herself, "Bulla and Pan are waiting for me at the… at the… umm… well, garden so I'll just… yeah." She nodded, a second later realizing that the school's garden was incinerated due to a meteor landing from outer space; _'It was actually Vegeta's ki blast while looking for Bulla.' _She thought. Before Ryuuji could even open his mouth to answer, the girl dashed out of the room, bag carelessly swung behind her back and a beet red color splattered upon her cheeks.

'_That was the most embarrassing encounter I've ever had with anyone.' _She thought, _'Dende, did I do something wrong to deserve this?' _

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, bumping heads into one whom she was supposed to meet.

"Ugh, Marron? Just what is your head made of? Dragon balls?" Pan muttered, clutching her head and Marron doing the same.

"What took you so long? We were about to see if you had collapsed or fainted or if an outer space villain came and kidnapped you." Bulla reprimanded, hands on her waist.

"Well the blame's on your blasted half-saiyan brother!" Marron shot back; the three decidedly heading for the rooftop.

"Trunks? He's here?" the blue-haired girl glumly asked, and Marron just shook her head.

"No, he isn't." Bulla let out a sigh of relief, "But I was writing curses on his name on my notebook when Ryuuji read it." Marron explained, as the three started to climb up the cold, stone steps.

"Ryuuji?" Pan asked, the three stepping out onto the cold pavement. The air on the rooftop was fresh, the sky was clear, and almost all of West City could be seen from where they were. Each took a seat on the ground and casually leaned on the wall, their bags set aside in one corner.

"So, Ryuuji?" Bulla repeated, "Who's that?"

The blonde-haired human girl had nothing to say but opted to stare, gape, and dramatically throw her hands up in the air, when Pan snapped her fingers in realization.

"Oh! That Ryuuji!" Pan stated while Bulla's expression remained that of a confused one. "You know… the boy… who goes to this school… and has hair…" a resonating face-palm shortly followed; both Pan and Bulla laughing at the blonde-haired girl's obvious state of despair.

"Oh, I remember," Bulla then stated, "You know, the human boy Marron insisted was cute over a week ago." Bulla continued, pulling out the very-well known capsule containing the trio's lunch. A puff of white smoke infiltrated the air, until the contents spilled out neatly fixed and wrapped.

"Wow, look; it's Chichi's cooking." Bulla said, taking up the lunchboxes and offering each to the two. The three then began to examine the homemade lunch with much adoration, the sweet, pungent smell wafting through the air. Opening the lunch, the blue-haired girl first ate with wooden chopsticks, slowly chewing and munching through. She then swooned at the savoring taste of the food, "No wonder Goten never spends dinner at our house." She exclaimed while both Pan and Marron made the same expressions on the first bite.

"By the way," Marron made a grab for her bag, pulling out the accursed purple notebook and opening the last few pages. "Look at this." Pan and Bulla moved closer, loudly reading two written lines in bright, red ink.

_Steps to Become a Z-warrior: _

_1. Learn to fly._

Pan's eyebrows furrowed in question, "Umm… Marron? Are you certain that should be your step one?" she uncertainly asked, while Marron looked at her in apprehension.

"Why? Anything wrong with it?" she asked back,

"Just that… why not elaborate it? There are a lot of steps before learning to fly; considering you haven't even had a single session of training before." Pan explained, earning a nod from Bulla and a slaw-jacked expression from Marron.

"You mean there's more to just learning how to float upwards?" she asked, an incredulous expression

"What, you didn't know?" Bulla swallowed, pointing her pair of chopsticks towards the blonde-haired girl,

"Ugh, just what do I have to do before I can start?" Marron whined, slapping away Pan's hand as she reached for the blonde-haired girl's lunch.

"I thought you already knew." Pan exclaimed, "But it's nothing big; just master basic martial arts." Marron rolled her eyes, _'Nothing big; yeah right…'_

"Basic? You mean like your grandpa, Mr. Satan?" Marron asked, a sense of dread creeping up on her.

"No; basic, as in Master Roshi basic, or any Z-fighter would do." Pan retorted, Bulla quietly eating and eyes flicking to and fro.

"Can't I learn to fly first?" Marron asked once more, her chopsticks lay forgotten in one hand.

"No."

"So you mean I have to train, _train?" _she asked with the most incredulous voice she could muster.

"Yes."

"For a week? A month?"

"It could take years." Pan shrugged; a clump of rice in between her chopsticks while Marron's continued to gape dumbfounded.

"But it could also depend on your teacher," a ray of light beamed on Marron's face before shortly dissipating, "Well, technically, if _I _would teach you it would surely take years." Pan answered, an agreeing nod coming from Bulla.

"Oh, don't look so glum, Marron." Bulla said while Pan successfully picked food off Marron's lunchbox.

"Yeah?" the blonde-haired girl answered grumpily. _'Step one: Learn to fly. Learn to fly; a simple sentence enclosing countless terrors, horrors and dismay. Mom and dad surely wouldn't give a second thought to me training and Master Roshi won't help me; he's too busy dealing with venereal thoughts of his.'_

"I can help you find a teacher." Pan offered, and the blonde-haired girl's face looked up hopefully once more.

"You would?" she asked,

"Yeah, Pan could ask Goten and the two of you could train at Capsule Corp." Bulla mischievously stated, earning a laugh from the two.

"All right! It's settled then!" Marron happily exclaimed, once more grabbing the notebook and crossing the second line out, _'I guess I'll just have to finalize the plan later.' _She thought.

Half an hour later, the three were about to head back to their respective classrooms, until the sight of a familiar jet-copter making its way towards the school made them stop in their tracks. The said jet-copter landed in the spacious grounds in front of the school; Marron, Pan, and Bulla peering down at the number of students flocking around.

"It's our logo." Bulla whispered, staring at the renowned Capsule Corp. logo at the side of the jet-copter. The three then rushed down the stairs, and heading towards the main entrance, they had a glimpse of a lavender-haired boy in a very sophisticated looking business suit. Girls swooned, guys stared, others whispered, but a particular pig-tailed girl crossed her arms and glared.

Trunks, surrounded by fellow men in business suits, headed towards the building, the flock of students parting quickly. As the elite-looking group passed by, Marron could only wonder why he didn't even spare them a brief glance.

"What's with the stranger-like attitude?" Marron asked, staring at the half-saiyan's back.

"It's always been like that; we never really acknowledge each other when he's working in public. And I really hate the media and extra attention." Bulla answered as they began walking through the hallways.

"This is the first time he's made a public appearance though; I wonder what or who's worth seeing personally in our school." Bulla asked, while Marron's ears perked up hearing questions of who the mysterious lavender-haired boy was.

"Wow, you're right; our schoolmates don't know him." she asked,

"Well, it's their first and probably last time seeing him so…" Bulla shrugged,

Marron nodded her head, and as the bell rang one more time, each went on separate ways.

* * *

Tap, tap, tap. The pencil went tap, tap, tap.

Humdrum. Tap, tap, tap.

'_History humdrum; yes, the subject history's last name should be decreed to be humdrum.' _The blonde-haired girl thought, _'Five minutes in time and I'm already bored out of my mind.'_

"The history of our great nation is not lightly to be dealt with." _'—professor says,' _"The past is tainted with the blood, sweat, and tears of countless of this world's defenders." _'—defenders; the very word that is the source of my lament.'_

"We've been threatened, killed, sucked dry, and even turned to candy," the blonde-haired girl looked around as the class gave snickers and nods of agreement. "But the worst, longest, most terrifying and drawn out tournament—"

She rolled her eyes, sarcastically thinking, _'Is the Cell Games.'_

"Is the Cell Games!" Marron fell out of her deep reverie with eyes wide open, staring at the professor with an unblinking gaze while her classmates reacted rather enthusiastically.

"So, I want to try something new," the professor then stated, silence filling the room, "A project—to be submitted in three day's time," Marron's anticipation grew further, "A research about the legendary Cell Games shall be in order, and remember this class; I accept nothing but the best from all of you. The best written report shall receive additional plus points, direct to the card and the highest of praises while the worst will of course be publicly embarrassed _my way_," gasps were heard here and there.

The blonde-haired girl twirled her right pigtail, a smirk slowly forming on her face. _'This just might be my chance to prove that I'm not just some kind of ordinary, normal girl; at least, my family and friends aren't. I might just become popular after all, and with the personal help of the one who defeated Cell himself, everyone would soon know about me.'_

* * *

"Please, Gohan, please?" the blonde-haired girl practically begged, while Son Gohan shut another leather-bound volume with a sigh.

"What for? You could ask Krillin and 18, I'm sure they'd be very glad to help you." He replied, flipping through papers stocked on top of his desk. Marron rolled her eyes, obviously knowing the answer.

"They aren't that good with the details, and they wouldn't disclose everything to me; as long as they think I'm 'still too young' for violence and those types of stuff." She retorted, sitting in a swivel chair and twirling around. The blonde-haired pig-tailed girl was in the Son-Satan residence; the cozy home not too far from Goku and Chichi's household. The study was expectedly filled with high shelves of books, a single desk on the side, two swivel chairs occupied and facing one another, a roaring fire in front, and the door on the left side.

"What do you need the information for, anyway?" Son Gohan finally turned to the pouting fifteen-year old, unbeknownst to the hidden recorder strapped on Marron's wrist in form of a ring; courtesy of Capsule Corp.'s gadgets.

"I just want to know the exact, full and entire story; it's kind of embarrassing that I'm the only one left in the shadows." Marron recited a well-practiced lie from her memory and Gohan's eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion, before pushing his eyeglasses up the bridge of his nose and leaned forward.

"So you're telling me that this is only for you." Marron nodded enthusiastically, prodding her wrist forward.

"What, you think I'd broadcast it?" Marron asked, a light smile on her face,

"All right then; just make sure no one else finds out, 'kay?" he asked once more, and she could only nod as the story-telling of how Cell began and how he was blasted into nothingness started.

* * *

A week passed by pretty quickly, the blonde-haired girl's attitude worsening each day. Her thoughts of becoming popular invaded her mind and further clouded her judgment, even leading her to forget her supposedly main goal. The Cell Games became her addiction, and the obsession developed each passing day.

It was finally Wednesday, and the time to pass the project came, but Marron's growing excitement was flattened and buried six feet underground, came the results the next day.

A thick, hard-bound book with a single sheet of paper on top of it was slammed down on the wooden table; causing a certain man in his late twenties, who was quietly sitting and reading, to look up startled and befuddled. It was still Thursday, a school day, and it was fifteen minutes past lunch time; why Marron was in the Son-Satan residence, Son Gohan had not have the slightest clue.

"An 'F'?!" screamed the girl, hands still on top of the paper.

"An 'F'!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up dramatically and started pacing the study room, "A bright, red, crystal clear 'F' on my History project! A project! 'F'! History! Marron's!"

The half-saiyan sighed, taking off his glasses and calmly wiped them clean, before standing up; grabbing the frantic girl by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth. "Marron, calm down!"

Marron's eyes widened and she gaped; before her face twisted into a scowl.

"It was nothing but a joke, wasn't it? It was really Mr. Satan who defeated Cell?" She gritted through her teeth and he stepped back, resuming to sit in his swivel chair in front of the rectangular table.

"Sit down." He motioned to another swivel chair, and she stomped her way through, grumpily sitting down.

"Now that you're sane again," Son Gohan stated and she huffed, crossing her arms and looking away. "Tell me, it was a school report?" he asked and the color instantly drained from the seething girl's face.

"If I had told you it was a project back then, you wouldn't have told me anything!" she defended, and he simply stared, speaking in a calm, gentle voice.

"Marron, you have to understand that some secrets are best kept _as_ secrets." He stated, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"In other words, you're telling me it wasn't a lie." She shot back,

"What?"

"What you told me, every single bit of information you told me was the plain truth." His eyes narrowed as if realizing the girl's plan.

"Marron, don't; you wouldn't have the slightest idea of what you're about to do. If everything, if the truth gets out, we're done for." He explained, but his words fell on deaf ears as Marron grabbed the piece of paper and stood up, only to have stopped by Son Gohan's iron-like grip.

"Let go of me." She hissed, but the grip on her arm stayed firm.

"Listen to me; this isn't worth it. You would disrupt the balance, silent, and quiet humble lives of all who had faced real threats. If you're only doing this to gain people's attention and favor—"

"And what would you know? You were a _geek _back at highschool! An ordinary, typical nerd who has no friends! The more people know the truth, the better." Gohan's expression contained mixed emotions of surprise, hurt, sadness, and much more obvious disappointment.

"Marron? Gohan? What's going on?" Videl Satan appeared by the door, and Marron's head whipped towards her, eyes meeting blue, worried ones.

"Nothing." Gohan's grip faltered; and out of complete spite, guilt, and embarrassment, the girl rushed out of the residence, absentmindedly flying her jet-copter towards Orange Star High. She walked as calmly as she could towards her classroom, and finally entering, she spotted the History Professor sitting in the teacher's table, talking to none other than the president of Capsule Corp. himself.

Not even bothering to be polite, she directly cut in the conversation, "Sir, I think there's been a very big mistake on my report on the Cell Games." The lavender-haired half-saiyan's eyes flashed to the girl,

"I think not, Miss Marron; a grade of that is definitely deserving of a poorly-made, rushed, and improvised-on-the-spot research." The professor calmly dictated, "Nevertheless, yours isn't the worst so—" she cut him off once more,

"Sir, what I have written is the very truth, and I have evidence to prove it." She retorted, "He's right here." her eyes met Trunks' briefly, and a group of onlookers increased and began flocking around the three.

"Trunks, it's true, right? Gohan was the one who defeated Cell." A very serious stare pierced Marron's eyes, but she held her ground. The lavender-haired boy grabbed and examined the piece of paper but no sooner than later, a sharp, harsh laugh was heard coming from Trunks himself, and the blonde-haired girl could no more than hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Highschool students are indeed, very imaginative, don't you think so professor?" he asked and the professor joined in the laugh, "And I do believe that we haven't met before, or have we?" he asked.

Marron opened and closed her mouth, willing herself to be knocked back to earth but to no avail. The world was spinning, she was already seeing stars, and ground looked curvy and lopsided; so she ran, out of the classroom, paper in hand, out of the presence of her professor and Capsule Corp.'s president, out of the whispers and gossips of her classmates, and into the empty hallway where she was stopped by a firm grip on her upper arm.

Her head whipped up, tears freely cascading down her cheeks as she met the same piercing, blue stare from earlier.

"Have you lost your mind, blondie?" he harshly remarked, as the blonde-haired girl continued to sob.

"What do you think you were you doing, revealing that piece of information to an ignorant, clueless human?" he asked,

"I just wanted a good grade!" she shot back, tugging her arm futilely,

"Lies; you wanted publicity. Like any other human would crave fame and praise." He retorted, and her eyes widened at how easily her lie was seen through.

"Have you no sense of pride?" he asked, "Publicity is forbidden—it is the one and only unspoken rule between all of us." His words rang clearly though her head; the sense finally coming back to her.

'_What am I doing?' _she asked herself, once more staring at the half-saiyan's back as he walked away, leaving her standing stranded by herself. _'I did all those things. I said all those things to Gohan. I planned to reveal my family's secrets just so I can become well-know. How shallow could I get? What happened?'_

She attended the rest of her classes with little to no enthusiasm, went home and immediately locked herself in her room. Sleeping was an arduous task, going through her classes the next day was even harder, and avoiding both Bulla and Pan when one could fly and sense ki was especially hard. It was Friday, and the guilt burning through her was suffocating her from the inside. Her hair was shriveled, big bags were under her red eyes, and her mind was constantly drifting away. She needed to do something.

'_I need to do something.' _

So now the blonde-haired girl waited outside the Son-Satan residence, jet-copter capsule safely tucked in her pockets, bag behind her back and holding a white, red-ribbon wrapped box. A woman with black, braided hair and blue eyes opened the door, staring at the visitor with inquisitive eyes.

"Hi, Videl; umm… is Gohan home?" she asked, biting her lips and hands becoming quite clammy.

"Yes, he's in the study; come on in, Marron." Videl replied, and she sheepishly smiled, stepping in and was met with Pan's frantic actions.

"Marron! Gosh, where have you been all day?" she asked, and out of the study came Son Gohan, looking as sharp and studious as ever. They all entered the living room, box on the table and Marron facing Gohan. She sighed, tucking a stray strand of her behind her ear. The blonde-haired girl counted the seconds, and the silence was almost deafening.

"I'm sorry." She finally said out loud, earning curious looks from both Videl and Pan, and a small smile from Gohan.

"I was wrong; _so_ wrong that I'm actually tempted to cover my face with a piece of cardboard. I'm sorry for the things I've said; it wasn't true, and I meant none of those." Still more silence, Pan and Videl having no idea of the current situation, "B-But I brought cake," she hopefully said, taking off the covers to reveal a velvety and scrumptious chocolate mudcake.

"Ohh… what's this for? Tell us, what happened?" Pan asked, Videl heading to the kitchen and returning with plates, forks and a knife.

"Yeah, I'd really rather not." Marron gave a slight smile and earning a grin from Gohan,

"Okay then, apology accepted; but you have to promise never to attempt something like that again, 'kay kiddo?" Gohan asked with a laugh, only Marron joining in.

"Hey," Pan nudged her best friend, "Full story tomorrow. You, me, and Bulla; you owe us one. And I found you the ideal teacher." She whispered and Marron simply grinned. She was about to ask who was training her until the sudden appearance of both Trunks and Goten made eyes turn towards them.

"Oh look, there's cake!" Goten happily exclaimed, grabbing a plate and starting to stuff his face with the chocolate dessert. The blonde-haired girl could only hang her head low while whispering questions to Pan,

"Yeah, they're here to train with dad." Pan whispered back, and Marron risked a glance towards the lavender-haired boy. _'I have to worst possible luck, don't I?' _

They all spent dinner at the current residence, and as they stood outside to say their goodbyes, the stars were already up in the night sky. Goten went ahead, saying he had to go somewhere else, while Trunks and Marron stood awkwardly, not saying a word or acknowledging one another.

"So, I guess I'll be going now." Marron smiled,

"Yep, goodnight, Marron, Trunks; come see us some other time." Videl stated with a smile, while Pan and Gohan nodded simultaneously.

She was about to pull out her capsule, until Trunks spoke up, "I think it's best if I see to it that she gets home safely first." He started, pointing a thumb towards the now gaping Marron.

"What?" she muttered out,

"Great idea, Trunks; all right then, the two of you take care, okay?" Gohan said, as Trunks once more carried Marron bridal-style, bag gripped tightly by her, and blasted into the sky.

* * *

"Trunks, you can go now." she stated after landing and attempting to tame her hair; but instead of going, he merely shrugged and sat on the slightly sandy and pebbly ground. Kame House was silent, the lights were off and only moonlight was shining from up above. She finally sighed, sitting beside the lavender-haired boy and glared as he moved to scoot further away from her.

"Misogynistic jerk." She muttered, eyeing him with distaste as he gave her a slightly amused look.

"What, you rather I cuddle you and let you lean your head on my shoulder while we watch the stars?" he mocked, raising an eyebrow while she crossed her arm and stuck her nose high.

"Preposterous; but I never told you to avoid me like the plague either." He simply shrugged and she sighed, turning to look at the now seemingly black-tinted waves of the ocean.

"So, why'd you do it?" he asked rather monotonously, and she once more looked down in embarrassment.

"I wanted to become popular." She muttered back, grabbing her bag and pulling out her cellphone,

"Why?"

"I don't know. I'm fifteen, I'm in highschool… I guess that accounts for it," She answered back, now typing in a familiar quote from recent events,

"And what else do ordinary fifteen-year-olds do?" she shrugged, slightly smiling, eyes still on the phone's screen.

"We have lessons, and gossip, and write essays, oh, and have crushes." She replied, remembering warm chocolate eyes and hair.

"You have one? Who?" he asked rather curiously, and peered through the cellphone, which she immediately pulled away,

"Ryuuji." She muttered, whilst sighing deeply.

"Ryuuji? What's a Ryuuji?" he innocently asked while she whacked him on the head, ignoring his mutters and continued.

"Ryuuji is a _person, _Trunks; not some kind of dessert." She shot back,

"And you like this human because?" he asked and she turned to gape at him,

"What is this, an interview?" she asked back,

"Well I bet he's similar to all those ordinary, puny, weakling pure humans; so why do you like him?" She scowled at his statement, and thought that maybe he would think of her reason as shallow and continue to mock her, so she simply kept quiet. He stared at her, waiting for an answer that never came.

"I never knew you had to power to shut up." The lavender-haired boy commented with a smirk, purposefully angering the now fuming Marron.

"What I like about him," She finally said, gritting the words through clenched teeth. "Is that he's like me." He gave her a questioning look,

"A puny, weakling pure human?" he asked and she slapped him on the shoulder.

"No, you insufferable prick; don't you think that after all these years of being around you guys I'd want at least a drop of normalcy on my life?" she asked, and he shrugged in return.

"Why?"

"Because being around all of you for a decade and a half is just too overwhelming," She replied, but he stayed silent. She sighed,

"I'm nothing like you guys, so I tend to seek for comfort and solace around someone who's like me; pure human and has no knowledge about how twisted life could be outside his little bubble of innocence." She started, "And besides that, he's really good-looking, pretty strong, smart, rich and has an attitude completely opposite of _you;_ my worst nightmare." She rolled her eyes as he gave her a knowing smirk.

"Look at this," she showed her what she had typed in, and he read out loud,

'_Steps in Becoming a Z-warrior'_

He paused, shooting a scowl at her, "You say that as if it's some kind of attained title and accomplishment."

"Well, it is to me." She hissed back, and he continued reading.

'_1. Know that publicity is forbidden'_

The lavender-haired half-saiyan smirked, amusement written upon his face,

'_2. Learn basic martial arts'_

"That's it?" he asked, and she withdrew the phone,

"For now, that is. There'll be lots more of steps coming in the future." she sighed, "Look, even though I hate saying words like these to someone with an attitude as foul as yours, I have to say it." She breathed in deeply, "Thank you. For knocking some sense into me, and for showing me the first step; but I didn't appreciate the 'not knowing each other' part, really embarrassing."

"Hn." Was his reply that made her glare at him, _'All those words and that was his reply? Nice talking, I guess.'_

A pregnant pause was made in the conversation, and the blonde-haired girl spoke once more after minutes of just hearing the waves lightly splash the pebbly pavement.

"I'm going to be learning basic martial arts tomorrow." She stated, wondering who was the ideal teacher Pan told her about.

"And?" he asked,

"And I'm just saying that one day; I'll be able to beat you in a non-flying, non-ki-using fight." She replied, picking up a pebble and throwing it towards the ocean, the sound of it breaking through the water's surface barely audible.

"Yeah, and that'll be the day when Bulla volunteers to join the world's martial arts tournament." He looked up, now examining the inky, starless sky.

"You know this is the second almost normal conversation I've ever had with you." She plainly stated,

"Yeah, and it's been as enjoyable as being eaten by Majin Buu." He replied, looking at her as she turned to him, amusedly laughing.

"You've been what? Eaten by who? When?" she asked and he sighed, finally getting up; the lavender-haired half-saiyan looked down at the still sitting Marron, knees under her chin.

"Long story." Now she got up, dusting her uniform and staring at him expectedly.

"Well," she decided to speak up, "I hope you miraculously get hit by lightning on the way to Capsule Corp., and wake up to loads of paperwork by the morning." She smirked, hugging her now shivering form.

"And I hope you dream of me," he retorted and watched as the blonde-haired girl's eyes widen comically. Trunks waited a few more seconds and whispered the last words with a familiar smirk of his before blasting off into the seemingly endless sky.

"Your worst nightmare."

* * *

_Hey everyone! ^^, you have NO IDEA how flattered and giddy and nervous and... well, you get the point, I was while reading your comments! I really appreciate the review and ratings you give; so please, feel free to continue reviewing. :) comments, constructive criticism, everything is accepted; just review and tell me what you think! Thanks for all those who took the time to read my story, and I apologize for any misspells, wrong grammars, and the likes. :)_

_~~~Mai_


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